6 great players who failed as managers

Thierry Henry's life as a head coach has got off to a rocky start
Thierry Henry's life as a head coach has got off to a rocky start

While players might be the ones responsible for delivering results on the field and are largely the men who get all the glory when results go positively, it is actually managers who are the brains behind the results, as they spend countless hours perfecting tactics as well as playing patterns and even longer hours drilling such tactics into their players.

An often taken path for footballers is to delve into management, with many of them taking coaching classes as they wind down their professional career.

Football management is a tricky business, as sometimes, little to no prior knowledge of the game is needed to succeed, with there being plenty examples of men who did not excel as footballers but succeeded as coaches.

The greatest players are usually expected to translate their playing success into management and while there are numerous examples of men such as Pep Guardiola, Johann Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti, Diego Simeone but to name a few who had great playing as well as coaching careers, there are far more numerous examples of men who did it all as players but failed to translate that success to the dugout.

In this piece, we shall be taking a look at six great players who struggled as managers.

Dishonourable mentions - Alan Shearer, Sir Bobby Charlton, Ruud Gullit,

6 Tony Adams

Tony Adams in action for Arsenal
Tony Adams in action for Arsenal

'Mr Arsenal' himself, Tony Adams was a no-nonsense defender in his day who marshalled the Arsenal defence, forming an almost impenetrable backline under the management of George Graham.

His commitment on the field of play led him to captain both the Arsenal and England teams, while also achieving the unique distinction of skippering a side to league titles in three different decades.

A bonafide Gunners legend, Adams spent the entirety of his 22-year professional career with Arsenal, making a total of 669 appearances and is widely considered by many to be among the greatest players in the club's history, with a statue honoring him in front of The Emirates stadium symbolic of the high accord placed on him by the Gunners faithful.

As a manager, he enjoyed much less acclaim, heading into coaching a year after retiring from playing when he was appointed the manager of Wycombe Wanderers in August 2003. Under his club, the club got relegated to League One and left his post a year later after overseeing a disastrous run of results.

Further appointment spells with Azerbaijan side Qabala and Granada were unproductive, with the La Liga outfit getting relegated under his watch having lost all seven La Liga games which he took charge of.

#5 Paul Gascoigne

Gascoigne in action for England at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
Gascoigne in action for England at the 1990 FIFA World Cup

The darling of Italia '90, Paul Gascoigne won the hearts of English fans and neutrals the world over with his displays for the Three Lions at the World Cup in 1990, with his tears on receiving a yellow card in the semifinal (which would have ruled him out of the final) one of the defining moments of World Cup history.

A supremely talented midfielder in his heydey, 'Gazza' is widely acknowledged by many to be one the most naturally gifted English players of all time, with his technique, skill and close control not commonly seen with English players.

However, for all his talents, Paul was never far from controversy, regularly garnering press coverage for mostly wrong reasons, as he was involved in numerous off-field incidents which always kept him in the spotlight.

Upon retirement, Gascoigne tried his hands at coaching to rather disastrous results, being appointed as manager of Kettering United in October 2005, but his tenure at the club lasted just 39 days, as he was fired with results being too poor and the club management complaining of his alcoholism, with Paul turning up for work drunk almost every day. He has not tried his hands at another coaching job since then.

#4 Hristo Stoichkov

Hristo Stoichkov of Bulgaria
Hristo Stoichkov of Bulgaria

The standout player of the 1994 World Cup, Stoichkov was the brains behind Bulgaria's surprise run to fourth place in USA where he won the Golden Boot and for his efforts, he was crowned the Ballon d'Or winner in 1994 as well as finishing runner up to teammate Romario at the FIFA World Player of the Year award in the same year.

A member of the famed Dream Team, Stoichkov was an integral part of the Johan Cruyff managed side which dominated football at the start of the 1990s, winning the club its first ever European Cup in 1992 as well as four La Liga titles consecutively.

Earlier on, he had won the European Golden Shoe with CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria and is widely considered to be among the best players of his generation, as well as the greatest Bulgarian player in history.

As a player, Stoichkov was known to possess a vile temper, receiving numerous bans and suspension for violent conduct and this is a temperament he carried on into his management career.

He was appointed coach of the Bulgarian national team in July 2004, but results were poor on the field, while his poor man management also saw him clash with a number of high profile Bulgarian players including Stylian Petrov who vowed not to ever play for the national team as long as Stoichkov was coach (the third player and second captain to do so in two years of Stoichkov's tenure).

Upon resigning from Bulgaria, the 52-year-old has gone on to manage other football teams such as Celta Vigo, Mamelodi Sundowns, Litex Lovech as well as CSKA Sofia without any success which is a far cry from the impact he made as a player.

#3 Lotthar Matthaus

Lothar Matthaus in action for Germany
Lothar Matthaus in action for Germany

The man with the most caps in German national team history, Matthaus turned out Die Maanshaft a total of 150 times (a record that stands till this day) and captained them to victory at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

In a career spanning 20 years, Matthaus won almost all there is to win in football at club and international level, turning out for some of the biggest clubs in the world such as Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Monchengladbach, while also winning multiple individual awards including the FIFA World Best Player as well as the Ballon d'Or.

His foray into management has been less glamorous, taking in unproductive spells with numerous clubs including Rapid Wien, Partizan Belgrade, the Hungarian as well as the Bulgarian national teams to not much success.

He has publicly stated in the past that his ultimate aim is to get a coaching job in the Bundesliga. Although on the evidence of his performances elsewhere, that is a dream which could be far from coming true.

#2 Marco Van Basten

Van Basten as coach of Netherlands
Van Basten as coach of Netherlands

The man responsible for the goal which won the Netherlands her first and till date only European Championship, Van Basten immortalized himself in the annals of football forever with his wonder goal in the EURO 1988 final.

An elegant player in his day, 'The Flying Dutchman' was the true definition of class, possessing world-class abilities and was undoubtedly the premier striker of his generation, as well as one of the greatest players of all time.

Van Basten won numerous titles with Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam before going on to international renown with AC Milan with whom he won two consecutive European Cups while also dominating Italian football under the management of the legendary Ariggo Sacchi.

He scored over 300 goals in a glittering playing career and was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992 in addition to winning three Ballon d'Ors, while also winning the European Golden Boot and was the first player in history to score four goals in a single UCL match. All these despite the fact that his career was ended at the tender age of 28 due to a serious injury.

Van Basten was appointed coach of the Netherlands national team in 2004 which led to a lot of public outcry due to his relative inexperience and his tenure as boss of the Oranje was problematic as he constantly clashed with numerous established internationals including Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert among others, with the most high profile being with Ruud Van Nistelrooy who stated that he would never represent the Netherlands while Van Basten was coach.

He then accepted the post of Ajax manager at the start of the 2008/2009 Eredivisie season, but was relieved off his duties less than a year later as the Amsterdam club failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Further managerial spells with Henreeven and AZ Alkmaar proved to also be unsuccessful.

#1 Diego Maradona

Maradona as Argentina manager
Maradona as Argentina manager

Arguably the greatest player of all time, Diego Amando Maradona was an absolute delight to watch during his playing days, possessing talent in abundance, with a skillset, close control and dribbling ability that can only claim to be matched by very few throughout history.

Following his displays at the 1986 World Cup where he almost single-handedly led Argentina to triumph in Mexico, Diego became a global superstar and is still revered till this day in Argentina, while his exploits for Napoli whom he led to two Scudetto victories granted him godlike status in Naples.

For a player who enjoyed so much success during his playing days, Maradona has enjoyed next to no success as a manager, coaching in different leagues and clubs with the most high profile being as Argentine national manager with whom he suffered an embarrassing exit at the World Cup in 2010 where Germany exposed his tactical naivety in a 4-0 quarterfinal drubbing.

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Edited by Aaditya Narayan